Browsing by Author "Theobald, Dale E."

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    Access to communication technologies in a sample of cancer patients: an urban and rural survey
    (BioMed Central, 2005-02-17) Abdullah, Ma'n; Theobald, Dale E.; Butler, Donna; Kroenke, Kurt; Perkins, Anthony; Edgerton, Sara; Dugan Jr., William M.; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background There is a growing awareness among providers of the symptom burden experienced by cancer patients. Systematic symptom screening is difficult. Our plan was to evaluate a technology-based symptom screening process using touch-tone telephone and Internet in our rural outreach cancer program in Indiana. Would rural patients have adequate access to technologies for home-based symptom reporting? Objectives 1) To determine access to touch-tone telephone service and Internet for patients in urban and rural clinics; 2) to determine barriers to access; 3) to determine willingness to use technology for home-based symptom reporting. Methods Patients from representative clinics (seven rural and three urban) in our network were surveyed. Inclusion criteria were age greater than 18, able to read, and diagnosis of malignancy. Results The response rate was 97%. Of 416 patients completing the survey (230 rural, 186 urban), 95% had access to touch-tone telephone service, while 46% had Internet access (56% of urban patients, 38% of rural patients). Higher rates of Internet access were related to younger patient age, current employment, and higher education and income. The primary barrier to Internet access was lack of interest. Use of the Internet for health related activities was less than 50%. The preferred means of symptom reporting in patients with internet access were the touch-tone telephone (70%), compared to reporting by the Internet (28%). Conclusion Access to communication technologies appears adequate for home-based symptom reporting. The use of touch-tone telephone and Internet reporting, based upon patient preference, has the potential of enhancing symptom detection among cancer patients that is not dependent solely upon clinic visits and clinician inquiry.
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    Longitudinal relationships between fatigue and depression in cancer patients with depression and/or pain
    (American Psychological Association, 2013-12) Brown, Linda F.; Rand, Kevin L.; Bigatti, Silvia M.; Stewart, Jesse C.; Theobald, Dale E.; Wu, Jingwei; Kroenke, Kurt; Social and Behavioral Sciences, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    OBJECTIVE: Fatigue is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms reported by cancer patients, yet relatively little is understood about its etiology. Recently, as researchers have begun to focus attention on cancer-related fatigue (CRF), depression has emerged as its strongest correlate. Few longitudinal studies, however, have examined directionality of the relationship between the two symptoms. Our aim was to evaluate the directionality of the association between depression and CRF. METHOD: The study used a single-group cohort design of longitudinal data (N = 329) from a randomized controlled trial of an intervention for pain and depression in a heterogeneous sample of cancer patients. Participants met criteria for clinically significant pain and/or depression. Our hypothesis that depression would predict change in fatigue over 3 months was tested using latent variable cross-lagged panel analysis. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms and fatigue were strongly correlated in the sample (baseline correlation of latent variables = 0.71). Although the model showed good fit to the data, χ(2) (66, N = 329) = 88.16, p = .04, SRMR = 0.030, RMSEA = 0.032, and CFI = 1.00, neither structural path linking depression and fatigue was significant, suggesting neither symptom preceded and predicted the other. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not support hypotheses regarding the directionality of the relationship between depressive symptoms and fatigue. The clinical implication is that depression-specific treatments may not be sufficient to treat CRF and that instead, interventions specifically targeting fatigue are needed.